'Some things cannot be fixed': Rikers Island and pretrial detention
Kalief Browder was only 16 years old when he was arrested and incarcerated. He was held in solitary confinement for almost two years out of a total three-year period of incarceration at Rikers Island after he was accused of stealing a backpack. Browder professed his innocence and refused to accept a plea bargain. His family could not afford his $3,000 bail, so Browder endured unspeakable beatings by guards and while in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day, was deprived of